Group 1 @ 10:00 a.m. (Ages 2-3)Books:Duck Tents, Camping Day, Bailey Goes CampingSongs:Sleeping in the Woods in My Little Red Tent, Aikendrum (with ukulele),
ABCs / Twinkle Twinkle Little Star / Baa Baa Black Sheep (with ukulele), The More We Read Together, These Are My Glasses Notes:Duck Tents was not as well-received as I expected. I think they were confused by the illustrations. Bailey Goes Camping was boring, and I had forgotten about an unfortunate fart joke in Camping Day that (thankfully) only half the kids got. I didn't read the book again at any subsequent session because of the fart joke, as I make it a point not to include things like that in my story times.

Group 2 @ 10:30 a.m. (Ages 4-5)Books:Jerome Camps Out, Henry and Mudge and the Starry Night, Amelia Bedelia Hits the TrailSongs: Aikendrum, Visor Tee Shirt Shorts and Shoes Notes: Jerome Camps Out was too advanced, but Henry and Mudge was just right. Some of the word play in Amelia Bedelia lost the kids, but they loved hearing her story anyway. This group enjoyed the ukulele, and I had them help me remember what each of Aikendrum's facial features was made of as we added more verses. In the future, I'd like to come up with more foods for the other parts of Aikendrum's body, as this group was disappointed when the song ended.

I have done a fair amount of outreach in this job, but few organizations have been so welcoming or accommodating as this day care center. I would have preferred not to be so limited by the pre-selected themes, as some of them were downright difficult, but even with those restrictions I was able to put together programs that engaged the kids, excited their teachers, and entertained me.

To thank me for coming, each class presented me with a card. Some of the teachers asked the kids to tell them what they liked about my story times, and they included those in the card as well. The responses were so sweet, I will share them below (with names removed, of course.)

"The sloth book."

"I liked her songs."

"Her voice."

"The music."

"The stories."

"Sing with Ms. Kathleen."

"The books."

"Her voice."

"And I read read read, and I look look look."

"I like books."

"I don't know."

"Sing songs."

"Her books."

"The books."

"I like her cause she reads stories to me."

"The songs."

"Songs and claps."

"Reading books."

"Singing songs."

"Sing and clap."

"I like a song."

"Sing songs."

"Her reading stories."

"Reading stories."

"Reading stories."

"The books and songs are what I like."

"I liked the songs."

"I like how she reads."

"I like at the end of her songs she said some silly things."

"I like the different books."

"I like her songs."

"I like the book about the butterfly."

"I like the tug boat story."

"I like the fish book."

"I like the books."

"I like the silly books."

There is something really rewarding about knowing how much the kids enjoyed and appreciated my visits. I know it's not always possible for busy librarians to get out of the branch and visit the local childcare centers as I often as I did this past three months, but when it is possible, it is totally worth it.